Determinants of Online Purchases Adoption in a Sub-Saharan African Developing Country

The objective of this work is to analyze the determinants of the adoption of online purchases by consumers in Cameroon. The data comes from a survey on the practice of new digital media carried out in Cameroon in 2021 by the Centre for Research Studies in Economics and Management (Cereg) with the technical support of the National Institute of Statistics (Ins). The results obtained from the estimations carried out on the basis of the dichotomous Logit model and deepened by the Heckman regression show that the adoption of Internet purchases is explained by the saving of time, the reliability and speed of online shopping and sales sites, but also by consumer income. However, loss of confidentiality of personal information and payments and the multiple financial losses due to the costs taxed on the use of electronic money cause a reduction in online purchases. Thus, promoting a protective regulatory framework for e-commerce consumers and the strengthening of human capital in Information and Communication Technologies should be required.